If I Can't Have You

Susan Powell, Her Mysterious Disappearance, and the Murder of Her Children

"In If I Can't Have You, author Gregg Olsen and co-author Rebecca Morris investigate one of the 21st Century's most puzzling disappearances and how it resulted in the murder of two children by their father. Every once in a great while a genuine murder mystery unfolds before the eyes of the American public. The tragic story of Susan Powell and her murdered boys, Charlie and Braden, is the only case that rivals the Jon Benet Ramsey saga in the annals of true crime. When the pretty, blonde Utah mother went missing in December of 2009 the media was swept up in the story - with lenses and microphones trained on Susan's husband, Josh. He said he had no idea what happened to his young wife, and that he and the boys had been camping in the middle of a snowstorm. Over the next three years bombshell by bombshell, the story would reveal more shocking secrets. Josh's father, Steve, who was sexually obsessed with Susan, would ultimately be convicted of unspeakable perversion. Josh's brother, Michael, would commit suicide. And in the most stunning event of them all, Josh Powell would murder his two little boys and kill himself with brutality beyond belief"--

This All-American appearing family holds tragic secrets. Susan Cox's faithful Mormon parents didn't want Susan to marry Josh Powell--there was just something about him. They were right. After their marriage he became the classic controlling and abusive husband. One night in the middle of a snowstorm he took their two young sons on a "camping trip" without any gear, and Susan was never seen again. [Warning: spoilers follow.] Confronted by police, Josh seemed oddly unconcerned about her welfare. Inept policing and lack of communication by two small-town police departments when Josh took his sons from a Salt Lake City suburb to Puyallup to live with his father didn't help. Susan's parents pressed for custody when Josh's father was arrested for voyeurism, possession of pornography and sexual obsession with Susan. When the pornography dragnet pulled in Josh as well, he killed the boys and himself in an arson fire. The Utah cops closed Susan's case, and as of the writing of the book, only her father was still looking into it. Sad story, interesting book.

SpringAltman
Jun 21, 2014

Chronicles Susan Powell's live before her disappearance and then the aftermath and investigation afterward, including the eventual death/ murder of her two children